When then NBA Commissioner David Stern agreed to let NBA players participate in the Olympics, many people, including myself, scoffed at the idea of the Dream Team.

Thinking just short term, many felt this was the arrogant U.S.’s response to not winning gold in 1988.

But Stern looked at this as a way to make the rest of the world better in basketball.

Now, fast forward to Sunday as the San Antonio Spurs captured the NBA Championship. The Spurs have eight players who were born outside of the United States on their championship roster, many who played key roles in the Spurs’ title run. Sure, some of these players like Tim Duncan attended college in the states but that’s not the point.

The influence the Dream Team and future NBA players had on the Olympic Games, helped usher in a sort of basketball renaissance worldwide. Now, there are hundreds of leagues throughout the world playing basketball and more international players are in the NBA today than ever before.

But the Spurs are like Stern’s vision of the Dream Team. Different players from across the world coming together to win an NBA title is pretty awesome.

About This Blog

Rick Brown has been with The Ledger since 1991. A native of Washington, D.C., Rick is a graduate of Florida A&M University. He has covered high schools, Arena Football, Spring Training Baseball, the Tampa Bay Lightning, boxing and colleges. He is currently covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.